Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Marc Gasol scored 25 points, Courtney Lee added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Portland Trail Blazers, 115-109, at the Moda Center on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Now, the Blazers will try to do something no NBA team has ever done: come back from a 3-0 deficit. Head coach Terry Stotts said as much, as Amy Schwartz of 750 The Game noted:
The Grizzlies led wire-to-wire and by as many as 14 points. Every time the Blazers would shave a few points off the lead, Memphis would build it back up to 12 or 14 and deflate them and the crowd, which was lively as usual. Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger gave it up for the home fans afterward, per OregonLive.com:
However, Portland made one final push late, trimming the lead to four on a Nicolas Batum three-pointer with 2:23 remaining.
Still, that was as close as the Blazers would get in the second half. Stotts expected his team to come through in the end, according to 1080 The Fan:
""We had the momentum, we hit the shot.. I thought it'd be one of those games where we'd find a way to pull it out." Stotts on close comeback
— 1080 The FAN (@1080TheFAN) April 26, 2015"
Batum led Portland with 27 points.
The Grizzlies played the last four minutes of the third quarter and the entire fourth period without Mike Conley, who took a forearm to the face from C.J. McCollum and was forced to exit the game.
Both teams shot 36-of-77 (47 percent) from the floor. The Blazers made seven more three-pointers than the Grizzlies, but Memphis went 39-of-43 from the free-throw line. Portland went 26-of-31, and that ended up being the difference in the contest.
The Grizzlies have won all seven of their meetings with the Blazers this season.
Game 4 is on Monday night at the Moda Center at 10:30 p.m. ET. Catch the action on TNT.
| Marc Gasol | A- |
| Zach Randolph | B+ |
| Mike Conley | B |
| Tony Allen | B- |
| Jeff Green | C- |
| Rest of Team | A |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | C+ |
| Damian Lillard | A- |
| Nicolas Batum | A |
| Robin Lopez | D- |
| Arron Afflalo | D+ |
| Rest of Team | A |
Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol: A-
Gasol was the man for the Grizzlies in Game 3.
While he shot the ball poorly (6-of-17), Gasol did an outstanding job working down low and drawing contact. He got to the free-throw line 14 times and made good on 13 of those opportunities.
Gasol was a calming influence throughout the evening, helping stave off Blazers runs with key foul shots and mid-range jumpers. He made two huge jump shots on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter to give Memphis some breathing room.
Plus, Gasol was a good rim deterrent, especially early on.
In total, Gasol poured in 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He did not have a single turnover, either.
Zach Randolph: B+
Zach Randolph was steady in the win.
He tallied 16 points off 6-of-12 shooting, using his strength and craftiness to make runners in the lane for much of the night.
Randolph did not have a huge impact on the glass, grabbing only four boards, but his presence in the paint offensively was huge for Memphis.
Z-Bo also went a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Mike Conley: B
Conley took a forearm to the eye area from C.J. McCollum in the third quarter and did not return.
Prior to the injury, Conley was playing fairly well.
The floor general had 14 points off 6-of-14 shooting and did a fine job running the offense. He was aggressive when he needed to be, getting into the lane and finishing in traffic.
Conley added four assists and did not commit a single turnover in 26 minutes.
Tony Allen: B-
Tony Allen did not make a significant impact on this game until the fourth quarter.
He had eight points, six of those coming in the final two minutes. One of those buckets came off a beautiful cut to the basket, and the other was the product of a fast break. He then made two free throws.
Allen added five rebounds, but he didn't make his typical imprint defensively. He wasn't able to play the passing lanes like we have become so accustomed to seeing him do, and as a result, we didn't see him start any transition opportunities for Memphis.
Allen played 24 minutes.
Jeff Green: C-
Aside from a ridiculous circus shot that resulted in an and-1, Jeff Green had a less-than-stellar game.
The 6'9" forward scored nine points off a 2-of-9 clip, missing some shots near the rim, and missing badly, at that.
Green compensated slightly at the free-throw line, going 5-of-5. He also hauled in six rebounds.
Still, it's hard to look past his inefficiency in terms of shooting the rock.
Rest of Team: A
Lee was terrific early on, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter. He shot 5-of-8 from the field overall, knocking down jumpers off the dribble and helping the Grizzlies spread the floor from the get-go. Lee also contributed five rebounds and made all nine of his free throws.
Nick Calathes was outstanding, too.
With Conley going down and Beno Udrih (ankle) already out, Calathes stepped up with 13 big points off the bench. He made four of his nine shots, connected on a pair of triples and kept the offense under control for a good portion of crunch time.
Vince Carter and Kosta Koufos each gave Memphis some solid minutes, too, contributing five points apiece. They both played solid defense, as well.
Portland Trail Blazers
LaMarcus Aldridge was never able to get into any kind of rhythm in this one.
The big man missed his first six shots, settling for long jumpers instead of going to work in the post or putting the ball on the floor. Three of those first six misses were air balls.
He heated up a bit afterward, making six of his final 12 field-goal tries, but his buckets were too scattered.
Aldridge did get to the foul line, going 9-of-10, but his tentativeness in terms of taking the ball inside in the first half definitely hurt his team.
He ended with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Damian Lillard: A-
While Damian Lillard had a solid night, posting 22 points off 9-of-17 shooting, he still didn't have one of those "wow" performances we are used to seeing out of him.
For starters, Lillard only went 2-of-7 from three-point range, with both of those makes coming in the first half. His misses were actually bad shots, either taken from too far behind the line or taken despite good contests from the defense.
He also made careless passes at key points in the game which resulted in momentum-killing turnovers.
That being said, Lillard was still good overall, dishing out nine assists and showing the ability to get into the lane and finish.
Nicolas Batum: A
It's truly a shame that this effort from Batum was wasted.
The Frenchman was magnificent in the loss, pouring in 27 points off a 9-of-18 clip. He buried six three-pointers and nearly single-handedly got Portland back into the game with his hot shooting late. Batum mentioned pride as a factor in his performance, per 1080 The Fan:
There may have been a couple of shots he probably should not have attempted in the fourth period, but he was feeling it and his team needed buckets, so it's hard to criticize him too much.
Batum added six rebounds and four assists to his line. He did not commit a turnover, either.
Robin Lopez: D-
Robin Lopez had a rough evening.
The big man was in foul trouble most of the game, picking up three fouls in the first half and acquiring his fourth early in the third quarter.
Because of that, he had to be careful when protecting the rim, and he did not register a single block as a result.
Lopez tallied only four points and four rebounds.
Arron Afflalo: D+
Arron Afflalo missed the first two games of this series with a shoulder injury, and you could tell he still hadn't fully recovered in Game 3.
Afflalo mustered just five points off a 2-of-5 clip and ended up fouling out in 27 minutes. He wasn't heavily involved in the offense, and both of his field goals came in the first half.
He chipped in six rebounds.
Rest of Team: A
McCollum was terrific off the bench and was the best Blazer on the floor not named Nicolas Batum.
The second-year guard was refreshingly assertive, fearlessly taking the ball to the rack against the Grizzlies' big front line. He dropped 26 points in 27 minutes, going 8-of-14 from the field and making eight of his nine free throws.
Other than McCollum, the Blazers got virtually nothing from their bench. Chris Kaman and Steve Blake managed just two points each.
The good grade is solely due to McCollum's efforts.
